


Binded by Secrets

by SisterDuffin



Category: Casualty (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 17:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19431127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SisterDuffin/pseuds/SisterDuffin
Summary: (AU) Duffy isn’t afraid of many things but she’s definitely afraid of her husband after a drink. Will contains scenes of physical and sexual assault, please stay safe when reading. Inspired by Two Beds and A Coffee Machine by Savage Garden.





	1. Chapter 1

The front door slammed shut and Duffy closed her eyes, bracing herself for the scream that came from her youngest child. Thankfully, her daughter remained asleep and Duffy exhaled, at that moment in time forgetting she’d been holding her breathe for so long.

She cast her eyes over the destruction in the living room, the nausea settling at the pit of her stomach. She slowly crouched down and began to pick up the broken pieces of glass. Andrew always had a temper, he always did manage to blow up over the most trivial things but since the birth of their youngest daughter, his temper has escalated. Duffy picked up all the broken glass, rearranged the living room and knowing Andrew wouldn’t come back until the early hours, settled down on the sofa to wait for her husband.

A loud thud jolted her from her slumber. Shit, she must’ve fallen asleep. As she slowly sat up from the sofa, she placed a hand on the back of her neck experiencing a bit of neck ache. Sofa’s weren’t the most comfortable places to sleep and she wasn’t getting any younger.

“Darling?”

She sighed silently, glancing at the clock above the glass cabinet. 1:30am. She didn’t even need to look at him to know he was drunk.

“In the living room.” She called. As he stumbled into the room, she hoped he wouldn’t wake up the girls. They were a nightmare to get back off to sleep once woken.

“Where’ve you been?” She asked. She didn’t need telling, she already knew. He’d been to the pub and then onto his whores house, the makeup stains on his collar was an instant giveaway.

“To the pub,” Andrew replied.

She sighed. Least he wasn’t flat out lying, like he was earlier. She shook her head at him, refusing to make eye contact before she stood up.

“I’m going to bed.” She announced, “I suggest you do too.”

For her the conversation was over, she didn’t want to talk. He was drunk, he’d just be angry and unreasonable like he always was after a drink. She went to step past him when his hand went to her wrist. His grip was hard and she looked down at his hand on her wrist and slowly brought her gaze to meet his eye.

She swallowed. Lisa Duffin wasn’t scared of many things but she was definitely scared of her husband when he was drunk.

She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to remain as quiet as possible so she wouldn’t wake Andrew. It would only anger him and she was covered in enough bruises without adding to the collection.

She looked down at her thighs. Her skin was mottled with purple bruises and fingermarks. She traced her fingertips over her bruises, shuddering slightly when she instantly remembered the pain. It wasn’t just the top of her thighs that were bruised, the top of her arms and around her neck had a lovely shade of purple to add to her pale complexion. Least this time he didn’t touch her face, last time that was a bugger to explain despite the makeup she wore.

Standing up, she walked a few steps to the bedroom door and turned back to face Andrew. He was lying on his front, nail marks in his shoulders that were obviously inflicted on him by his lover. She sighed, wrapping the dressing gown around herself. She didn’t know why he had to go elsewhere, it wasn’t like they weren’t intimate. Whenever she turned him down, he took what was his anyway.

Slowly she opened the door and stepped out into the hall, quietly closing the door behind her. Down the hall, she went to check on her daughters. Pushing open the door, she lent against the doorframe as she watched the two little girls sleeping peacefully, their tiny frames illuminated by the night light they had on every night.

Having two children close together wasn’t planned but Duffy wouldn’t change it for the world. It was challenging, been a working mum but she just about, made it work. There was slight movement from the bed before a tiny voice whispered,

“Mummy?”

Duffy stepped into the room, shutting the door so the light of the hall wouldn’t disturb her youngest. She knelt down in front of one of her daughter’s beds,

“Good morning Ella Bella.”

Ella-Grace or Ella Bella as she was affectionately known was the oldest of the Bower girls at three. She was the spitting image of Duffy, blonde hair that she wore in pigtails and the brightest blue eyes that shone brightly.

“Ancakes?”

“Shall we see what Millie Moo wants?”

Ella nodded enthusiastically and wriggled out from under the duvet, making sure to collect her monkey teddy. She left the teddy on the bed before wrapping her arms around her mum’s neck and planting a slobbery kiss to her lips.

“Mmm, Ella Bella dribble. Yum.”

Ella giggled loudly and then placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling with mischief. For a moment she forgot about her younger sister Amelia. Amelia hearing the giggle, began to stir in her bed. She slowly walked over to the bed on the opposite side of the room, gently stroked her sister’s hair and kissed her forehead.

“My Millie Moo.”

Duffy watched, her eyes beginning to get teary. How did she manage to raise such innocent, considerate children? She harshly wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

That morning before work, Duffy didn’t speak to Andrew, she allowed him to sleep knowing he’d be feeling rough. She got the girls ready for nursery, dropped them off and headed to work. Sitting in the staff room, about ten minutes before the start of her shift, she stared into the mug of coffee she’d made.

She was exhausted which wasn’t surprising, these days she barely slept surviving on four hours sleep maximum. She sipped her coffee, completely lost in thought that she hadn’t even noticed Eve enter the staff room. Eve watched her for a moment.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm?” Duffy looked up and forced a small smile, “yes.”

“Are you sure?”

Duffy nodded and Eve hesitated about pushing the conversation any further. Would she have classed her and Duffy as anything other than colleagues? Eve did have a great deal of respect and admiration for the woman though. Eve closed her locker, lent back against it and was silent for a moment.

“You know, if you ever need to talk, I’m around.”

Duffy stood up and placed her mug in the sink. Although she knew the likelihood of ever taking Eve up on her offer was virtually slim, she nodded and thanked her anyway because it was a nice gesture.

“Thank you but everything’s fine. I’m just tired.” As she left the staffroom, Eve sighed sadly. She knew Duffy was pretending, she’d seen the bruises a few times over the last couple of weeks, she also knew what they were from. Once upon a time she’d been on the receiving end of her husband’s temper. Eve started work shortly after, making a mental note to keep a close eye on her.

Duffy was so relieved to finish her shift at 2, one of the perks of being a working mum is that a six hour shift slotted in with the girls perfectly; giving her the best one both worlds. She was relieved to finish because she knew Eve was keeping an eye on her and it made her nervous. At least Charlie was a little more discreet when he _kept an eye on her._ She couldn’t have Eve finding out about her personal life.

The idea of Eve knowing she was a beaten wife filled Duffy with a sense of panic. Her chest began to feel extremely tight, a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach.

‘Breath, just bloody breath.’ She told herself but it wasn’t working. Her breathing was becoming faster.

“Duffy? Shit,” Charlie guided her over to the sofa, made her sit down and then crouched down in front of her. “Duffy, look at me?”

She removed her gaze from the spot she’d fixated on and made eye contact with Charlie. He smiled sadly, her eyes were so lost, they’d lost their sparkle.

“Nice deep, slow breathes for me.”

With Charlie’s gentle encourage, it didn’t take her long to regain control of her breathing. Although her breathing returned to normal, her body felt shaky and she still felt sick. She sipped a glass of water Charlie had got her, her cheeks turning a shade of red in embarrassment.

“Thank you,” She whispered, swirling the water around the glass, refusing to make eye contact with Charlie.

“Are you okay?” He asked and she exhaled. Now that was a question. No she wasn’t particularly but she couldn’t tell the truth, could she? What would everyone think?

“I’ll be okay,” she admitted after a couple of seconds although she doubted that very much. “I need to go Charlie, I’ll be late for the girls.”

As she moved to the door of the staff room, he said to her; “when are you going to stop lying to yourself?”

She turned back and glared at Charlie, which he knew was because he’d touched a nerve. “Excuse me???!”

“How many more times is he going to break you Duffy? Until there’s nothing left of you?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about Charlie!!!”

“Don’t I?” He sighed sadly, “I see it every day in your eyes.”

“Piss off Charlie!!” She snapped, flung open the door and allowed it to slam closed behind her. However as she went to collect her girls, she couldn’t help but reflect on Charlie’s words.


	3. Chapter 3

“Please Andrew,” it came out as a whimper when he dug his fingernails into her breast, “the girls are in the living room.”

“We’ll be quick.”

She closed her eyes, her back pressed against the kitchen counter. She knew saying no would be pointless, he’d do it anyway but she didn’t want the girls to walk in and see what was going on.

He began to undress her, playing with the buttons on her blouse. His lips roughly kissing her lips, moving down her jaw to her neck. It wasn’t long before he was fucking her roughly against the counter, his fingernails marking her hips and the top of her thighs as always.

She was so relieved when it was over, relieved to get it over and done with. Hopefully now they’d had a little fun in the kitchen, he wouldn’t want anything tonight. She redressed herself, examining the new bruises and sighed silently. Tying her hair back into a bobble, she turned around and got on with cooking dinner, like nothing had just happened.

“Mummy, mummy, ‘ook.”

Ella dashed her way into the kitchen from outside, a tiny dot in the palm of her hand that was stretched out. Duffy smiled and crouched down to her daughter’s level, “What’s that?”

“Catpillar.”

“A caterpillar?” She repeated and Ella nodded, “catpillar.”

“And do you know what they turn into?”

Ella frowned, looked down at the caterpillar and shook her head.

“Ope.”

“A beautiful butterfly,” she smiled as she brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face. Ella gasped, “utterfly?”

“A butterfly.” She planted a kiss against her daughter’s forehead, “where’s Millie Moo?”

“Aying ‘arden.” She announced and Duffy nodded, “go on then, go back and hunt for caterpillars.”

Ella ran back out. Duffy straightened herself up and walked towards the back door, watching her two daughters play together. She smiled brightly. Both of them were her world, she’d be lost without them. She bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from wanting to cry. If she broke, who would look after her two babies?

“Ama?” Amelia, Millie Moo, came toddling towards her. At eighteen months, she was a delightful, beautiful little thing. Her hair, although not as blonde as Duffy’s and her eyes been green instead of blue, she was still the image of Duffy and her oldest sister Ella. She picked up her daughter, hugging her tightly. Amelia rested her head on her mum’s shoulder.

“Are you tired baby?”

Amelia nodded, sucking on her thumb. Duffy smiled sadly and planted a kiss against her daughter’s head, “Tea, bath, story and then bed?” She suggested which received another nod from her daughter. Holding Amelia, she glanced back at Ella. She knew she had to protect them, protect their innocence but she couldn’t just leave Andrew, could she?

_Could she?_


	4. Chapter 4

She gently touched her cheek in the bathroom mirror, flinching at the pain it caused. On her right cheekbone was a small, purple bruise about the size of a ten pence piece. She’d attempted to cover it with concealer but you could still make out a small bit of bruising. She just hoped nobody would draw attention to it, only because she didn’t have a plausible excuse made up.

Unfortunately, as she was attempting to cover it up, Eve walked into the bathroom. Duffy’s eyes met with Eve’s through the mirror until she swallowed and looked down at the sink.

Eve didn’t say anything at first, she used the bathroom before she stood beside Duffy, washing her hands. There was a definite awkwardness between the two.

“What was it this time?”

“Sorry?” Eve glanced towards the bruise on her cheek and Duffy sighed as she realised what she was referring too. “It’s not what you think.”

“Isn’t it?” Duffy shook her head before Eve interrupted, “no matter how much he begs for forgiveness, he’s never going to stop.”

“You don’t know anything!” Duffy stated firmly as she placed her concealer and her comb in her tunic pocket. “My husband does not beat me!”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed off, if he does.” She told her gently. She continued to shake her head in response.

“My husband!” Duffy began, “Is a highly respectable doctor, a loving husband and a brilliant father. He does not need the likes of you attempting to discredit him!!” She laughed inside at the words she was using to describe Andrew. He may be a respectable doctor but that was all. He was a cheat, a bully and a lousy person all together.

“I’m just trying to help.” Eve protested and Duffy rolled her eyes.

“You can help by leaving me the hell alone!” The door to the bathroom swung open and slammed shut again within seconds. Eve sighed. How was she going to get Duffy to listen, to understand it wasn’t her fault?

Charlie, Charlie would know what to do wouldn’t he?

Eve hovered in the doorway of the office, glancing back at Duffy who was stood by the patient board. She looked back at Charlie, who was sat by the desk, rubbing the back of his neck. She knocked on his door and with a smile asked,

“Are you busy?”

He laughed gently as he glanced to the pile of paperwork that was currently occupying two thirds of his desk. “No not at all.” Then he frowned, “is everything okay?”

It was a rare occurrence that Eve would seek Charlie out for a chat. Eve sighed and stepped into the office, “I’m worried about Duffy.”

He turned around in his chair to make eye contact with her. He knew it wouldn’t have been long until Eve noticed a different in Duffy, Eve always did have the nurses best interests at heart, it was why she was ward sister. He gestured towards the open door and she closed it, stepping towards the desk.

“Duffy hasn’t been herself for weeks.” Eve smiled sadly, “as for the bruises, they’re a different matter all together.”

Charlie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, something he always did when he was worried.

“You’ve spotted the bruises, too?”

He thought it was just him. Especially the horrible ones that had been around her neck a couple of weeks ago. Eve nodded, confirming that she had seen those bruises in question.

“You need to talk to her Charlie.”

He knew he did have to talk to her, to gently encourage her to leave Andrew before he went too far. However, every conversation that involved Andrew’s name at the minute always ended up in a row between the two.

“What makes you think she’ll listen to me?”

“You’ve known her a long time.” She told him, _plus you looked very close at the wedding_ Eve thought but didn’t say out loud. “So you’ll agree to talk to her?”

Charlie nodded, she was his best friend, he had to try. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Thanks Charlie. Look I best get back to work.” Leaving his office, Charlie looked back at his pile of paperwork, at the door, sighed silently and continued to rub his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

02:15

Charlie stirred in his bed, rolling from his left side to his right. He was knackered but couldn’t sleep because he was too busy worrying about Duffy. She’d rang in sick for her shift which was highly out of character for her. She was never ill and two, she would always attempt to come to work. He tried to contact her earlier on her mobile but Andrew answered and said that she was asleep but he didn’t know how true that statement was.

He slowly sat up in bed and swung his legs round to the edge of the bed. Putting on his slippers, he moved to the bedroom door, wrapping his dressing gown around him. He was awake so he might as well be up.

As he was coming downstairs, he heard the front door and frowned. Who an earth would knock on at this time of the morning? He did think about leaving it but there was something in the knock that made him think twice. Grabbing the keys out of the kitchen, he returned to the front door and unlocked it.

Standing at his door step, two fifteen in the morning, Charlie made eye contact with Duffy. Two sleeping toddlers on her hips. She looked… sore, was the only way he could think of describing her.

She had a cut to her head that had bled onto her shirt, a split lip, bruises to the inside of her wrist as well as neck. The girls looked unharmed and he was grateful for that.

“There was nowhere else I could go.” She admitted sadly. Charlie wasn’t going to turn her away in this state, he stepped aside and invited her into the house.

In the lounge, she seemed reluctant to put the girls down. Fearing that if she did put them down, she’d loose them forever. After gentle encouragement from Charlie, she left both daughters asleep on the sofa, kissing their heads twice and tucking them up under the blanket.

“What happened?” He’d grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard and settled it on the table. She sat down opposite him.

“I… I tried to leave.” It was a whisper and Charlie opened the first aid kit to find an antiseptic wipe.

“Leave? What, when?”

“Yesterday afternoon. I— tried to go, to leave but he caught me.”

“What did he do to you?”

She sighed, “Added to my collection of bruises. Strangled me, beat me. You know Charlie, the usual.”

He reached over and gently began to wipe the dry blood on her face with the wipe.

“This might hurt,” he told her as he got nearer to the cut. She flinched as the wipe ran over the cut on her face.

“What made you come here?”

“I knew you’d never turn me away, Charlie.” She whispered, her gaze locking onto his. There was nothing spoken between them, the pair of them staring into each other’s eyes. It saddened Charlie. At one point her eyes were so bright and blue. Now they were dark and sad.

“What made him hurt you now?” She swallowed the bile that had began to rise as she whispered, “he— found out about the girls.”

Charlie’s eyes widened at her revelation but he didn’t say anything for a minute. Instead, he used his thumb to wipe away the clump of mascara that had gathered underneath her eye.

“I promise you Duffy, this is all going to be okay.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb with a sad smile. He’d make this all alright, “I’ll make it okay.”

_**flashback** _

_He’d gone to see Duffy a day or two after she’d given birth to Ella. He knocked on the door of the house, a bunch of roses in his hand. She came to the door wearing a purple blouse and skinny jeans, looking as beautiful as always but tired._

_“Hi.” She greeted him with a large smile that grew when he produced the flowers._

_“For you,” He told her as she blushed and took the roses. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent, “You didn’t have too.”_

_“I know but I wanted to.” He stepped into the house, “Andrew around?”_

_“Just gone to the shop, be back in ten.” She closed the door and lent against it. She met his gaze again as she bit her lower lip. He stepped towards her until she was trapped between the door and Charlie’s body. He lent down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Just as she returned the kiss, Ella began to cry and she laughed. “Duty calls.”_

_“Come on, I want cuddles.” He kissed her again and then moved. Duffy rolled her eyes but walked into the room. Underneath the window in the Moses basket was Ella, small, perfect, healthy._

_Ella-Grace, their daughter._


	6. Chapter 6

After wiping the blood from the side of her head and examining the head wound, he cleaned up her lip before he kissed her forehead.

“Go and have a shower, I’ll leave a top out as a nightie.”

She shook her head, glancing at the door. He knew she was thinking of the girls, not wanting to leave them long enough for anything to happen. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and called her name gently. She turned her attention to look at him. He smiled sadly,

“Whilst you’re in the shower, I’ll watch the girls.” She swallowed and hesitated before she nodded. Someone had to watch the girls, Andrew might get them. Charlie sat down on the arm of the sofa and watched both girls as the shower began to run.

She sat in the corner of the shower for ages, allowing the water to cascade down her body. She hugged her knees, counting every bruise. The impact of the water made them sting but maybe it was the least she deserved for lying to Andrew for so long. Washing her body, she washed the blood from her hair and got out, wrapped the towel around her body. Stepping into Charlie’s bedroom, she took the nearest shirt she could find and changed into it. Returning downstairs about half and hour later. Charlie was true to his word, he stayed watching the girls. She stood watching him, feeling out of place despite spending many nights here. He was sat on the sofa opposite and tapped the cushion next to him. She came over and sat down, moving herself as close into him as she could.

He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly against his chest. She closed her eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. She kissed his chest and whispered; “When did it go wrong Charlie?”

He couldn’t answer that question. If he was honest, it was his own fault that she’d wounded up with Andrew anyway. If he hadn’t been so caught up with Baz, perhaps he’d have made an honest woman of her. Rather than fathering her children and being known as ‘Uncle Charlie.’

She moved from his chest and looked up at him, whispering his name; “Charlie?”

“Yes darling?”

He looked down and she moved her fingers to trace over his jaw.

“Kiss me.”

He met her eye. For the first time in months, there was a small sparkle of something and he nodded. Gently he lent down and pressed his lips to hers. She smiled sadly against his lips, parting her lips slightly so he could deepen the kiss.

He pulled away to look into her eyes and told her, “I’m going to make this right, I promise.”

“Just hold me.” She whispered, her hand gripping the top of his dressing gown. He held her all night, not letting her go.

“Can you do me a favour?” She asks the following morning. The girls are sat at the kitchen table eating rice krisipes, Duffy in the hall doing her hair.

“Sure?”

“Will you keep an eye on the girls for me?” She didn’t look in his direction as she sorted out her hair. Charlie although he agreed, frowned.

“Why, where are you going?”

“To speak to Andrew.” Charlie exhaled loudly. Had she not learnt anything from the past few months? That Andrew clearly had an inability to talk and instead used his fists.

“Duffy, no.”

She turned round and smiled sadly, putting on her jacket. She stepped towards Charlie and kissed him on the cheek, stroking her thumb against his cheek.

“An hour Charlie, I’ll be back.”

Reluctantly he agreed. “One hour Duffy, and if you’re not back in that time, i’m coming over.”

As she took the keys and closed the door behind her, Charlie couldn’t help but feel on edge. He glanced back at the girls, forced a smile and joined them at the table. Every now and again he glanced at the clock, counting down the sixty minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

“Andrew?” She stepped into the house, closing the door behind her. There was a deadly silence and she took a deep breath, she learnt the hard way that silence didn’t always mean they wasn’t danger around. She placed her keys on the side and went into the kitchen. Andrew was sat at the table, a glass in front of him and two thirds of the vodka gone. She swallowed as he looked up, meeting her eye.

“Where’ve you been?”

She knew not to lie. It always made things worse later. “I went to Charlie’s, I thought it was best to give us some space.”

“Took the girls to see daddy dearest?” He threw the empty glass in her direction, fortunately it missed her by millimetres but still made her jump when it smashed against the cupboard.

“Andrew, please.” She sighed. She knew she should’ve walked away, try again to talk when he wasn’t so drunk but he was her husband. They couldn’t go on like this anymore, it wasn’t fair on her or the girls. The chair legs screeched against the wooden floor as Andrew moved towards her. She felt sick when she saw the look in his eyes, she’d been on the receiving end of that look a lot in their four years of marriage.

“I bet you and Charlie are still at it, behind my back.” She shook her head, trying not to show she was afraid. “Andrew, please. It was never like that.”

By now he was in front of her, her back against the counter. She was stuck, unable to move. Her heart began to beat furiously inside her chest, the nausea settling in her stomach.

“Tell me what it was like,” he told her as he placed his hand to her cheek. She swallowed again and briefly met his eye. “It was a mistake.”

He laughed and slapped her hard across the face. Duffy gasped, the slap bringing tears to her eyes.

“Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He enjoyed seeing the fear in her eyes, it made him feel powerful. “Once is a mistake, twice is a choice.”

She briefly closed her eyes just as Andrew asked; “Can he fuck you like I can? Does he know how rough you really like it?” His hand rested on her neck and she shook her head.

“No?”

“No.” She whispered, her throat dry. He put a little pressure on her neck and she coughed slightly in discomfort. “Andrew, please.”

She didn’t even know what happened but he removed his hand from her neck and stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. Duffy glanced down, her own eyes widening when she realised her hands were covered in blood. He fell back against the table, sliding down onto the floor. The knife sticking out of his side.

“Andrew,” she whispered but remained frozen, her eyes fixated on her husband. Andrew pulled the knife from his side and stared at Duffy. He choked out,

“I’ll…. destroy…. you… bitch.”

She watched, her head tilted to the side as she watched Andrew bleed out. She knew she should’ve got help, applied pressure to his wound but there was something oddly relaxing about watching the life drain out of him. He didn’t die quietly, still had enough strength inside to call her every vile name under the sun. Watching for his chest to finish raising, she turned and ran her hands under the kitchen tap, trying to remove all traces of his blood.

She froze when she heard a knock on the door. She swallowed as she glanced down at Andrew’s dead body and back at the front door when there was another knock.

“Duffy it’s me.” She wasn’t sure if she was relieved to hear Charlie’s voice on the other side of the door. She unlocked the door and allowed him to walk into the house. She closed the door behind him.

“The girls?” She asked.

“With a neighbour,” he frowned. “God Duffy, where are you hurt?”

She must’ve looked confused because he clarified, “your bleeding.”

“I am?” She looked down. There was a patch of blood on her shirt that kept growing. As she lifted up her top, she stumbled slightly and Charlie caught her. Placing his hands over the wound on her stomach, he caught her gaze.

“Tell…. the girls…. mummy’s sorry… and…. she loves them.” She closed her eyes.

“Don’t you dare go to sleep on me, Duffy. Keep talking to me, please.”

She could hear the panic in his voice. It was beginning to hurt, the more he pressed down to stem the blood flow. “I love….. you Charlie… Fairhead.”

“I love you too.” She closed her eyes again. It was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. The last thing she remembered hearing was Charlie’s voice and the sound of sirens.


	8. Chapter 8

She stirred, a small groan escaping her lips as she tried to get comfortable. She slowly opened her eyes. Ceiling tiles, since when did her and Andrew have white tiles on their ceiling? As her eyes flickered closed again, she heard the beeping of a machine, reopened her eyes and sat bolt upright in bed.

“Woah, where’s the fire?”

She stared at Charlie, a tightening in her chest. She tried to move but groaned in pain and frustration.

“The girls? Where are the girls?” The panic was evident in her voice and Charlie sat down on the bed facing her. He pressed his hand to her cheek, “the girls are with Amy, they’re safe.”

She nodded, relieved to hear that her girls were okay. She slowly lay back down, “what happened?”

Charlie swallowed and didn’t say anything for a moment. “You and Andrew got in a fight.”

“Is he okay?”

He paused, “Duffy, Andrew’s dead.” Duffy looked up from the bed and made eye contact with Charlie. Charlie wasn’t sure what it was but there was something different in her eyes, something different now she knew Andrew was dead.

“Oh.”

Nothing more was spoken. Charlie took her hand in his, gently running his thumb over the back of her hand. Duffy had been lucky, she’d required surgery and a blood transfusion but she was going to be okay. “What happened?”

She didn’t quite remember. It all happened so quickly, she’d never seen the knife on the side. Never mind, picked it up. Or did she?

“I don’t know Charlie. I—-“ she looked down at their hands, “I think I killed him.” She whispered.

“Talk me through what happened.” Charlie encouraged gently. Duffy began to explain, how she’d been stuck against the counter and how he had his hand on her throat. Then he stumbled backwards and they were both bleeding.

“I don’t even remember a knife Charlie.” She whispered. Charlie wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissed the top of her head and held her. As she rested her chin on Charlie’s shoulder, there was something in her eyes that perhaps this hadn’t been such a tragic accident after all.

“It’s going to be okay, the police will want to talk to you but we’re going to be fine.” He kissed her head again, “You and the girls, you’re safe now.”

She closed her eyes, clinging to the only man who ever made her feel safe. The only man she had ever loved.

“Promise me, no matter what happens, you’ll look after the girls.”

“I promise but there’s no need.”

“How do you know?” She whispered and he smiled, “I know okay? Now relax and try and get some sleep.”

Releasing her grip on Charlie and moving from the embrace, she lay back down and closed her eyes. He kissed her cheek with a small smile and stayed by her side as she slept.

-x-

_She picked up the knife and stabbed him in the side. She wasn’t even aware she’d done it but apparently she had. As he removed the knife from his side, she crouched down beside him._

_“Rot in hell, you bastard.”_

_She spat as she placed the knife in his hand and positioned it to her stomach, stabbing herself. Then she dropped the knife beside him and watched him die._

-x-


End file.
